Cabinet with folding bed structure



Jan. 20, 1959 G. L. EDER CABINET WITH FOLDING BED STRUCTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 29; 1957 INVENTOR GZEd e r ATTORNEY G. L. EDER CABINET WITH FOLDING BED STRUCTURE Filed May 29, 1957 Jan. 20, 1959 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mm mm 3 m INVENTOR GfZ..Ede 7' ATTORNEY Jan. 20, 1959 G. EDER CABINET WITH FOLDING BED STRUCTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 29, 1957 I ll I ll ,5 -3 7 INVENTOR BY 2 WW CABINET WITH FOLDING BED STRUCTURE George L. Eder, Denver, Colo., assignor of one-half to Bernard J. Carroll and Felicitas M. Carroll, Denver, 'Colo., joint tenants Application May 29, 1957, Serial No. 662,375

2 Claims. (Cl. -2)

This invention relates to a novel cabinet and bed structure and more particularly to a cabinet adapted to contain two beds stored therein when the cabinet is closed, and for supporting the beds in extended, usable positions when the cabinet is open.

More particularly it is an aim of the present invention to provide a combination cabinet and bed structure including novel means whereby the weight of the two beds will counterbalance one another for maintaining the beds in extended positions when the cabinet is open and to provide means whereby a minimum of manual force is required for moving the beds between nested or stored positions within the cabinet and extended or open positions.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a cabinet having hingedly mounted parts to which the beds are connected and which parts move simultaneously with the beds to and from extended and stored positions of the beds and open and closed positions of the cabinet.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational view, partly broken away and partly in section, showing the cabinet in a closed position and with the beds stored therein;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partly broken away and showing the cabinet in an open position with the beds extended;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the cabinet and bed structure as seen in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 66 of Figure 2;

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line '77 of Figure 2;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary top plan view, partly in horizontal section, illustrating the mounting of a ladder on an end of the cabinet, and

Figure 9 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the cabinet and showing the ladder mounted thereon.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the cabinet with folding bed structure in its entirety is designated generally 12 and includes a cabinet, designated generally 13, having a bottom 14, end walls 15 and 16, a rear wall 17, a top wall 18 and a front wall 19.

An upper bed, designated generally 20, and a lower =bed, designated generally 21, are supported by the cabinet 13 and each includes an elongated rectangular bed frame 23 which is open at its bottom and top and which includes end walls 24, a rear wall 25 and a front wall nited States Patent 26. The rear wall 25 of the upper bed 20 is secured against a portion of the inner side of the top wall 18. The top wall 18 is swingably connected by hinges 27 to the rear wall 17 of the cabinet, and said hinges .are also secured to the end walls 24 of the frame of the upper bed 20.

The open-bottom of the frame of the lower bed 21 is secured against a portion of the inner side of the front wall 19. Hinges 28 are secured to'the upper side of the cabinet bottom 14 and to the inner or lower end of the front wall 19 and to the rearwall 25 of the lower bed frame for swingably mounting said front wall 19 and the lower bed 21'on the cabinet bottom. The lower bed 21 is preferably secured by angle members 29 to the front wall 19, as best seen in Figure 4. Bars 30, as seen in Figures 3, 4 and 6, extend longitudinally of the lower portion of the lower bed frame and have downturned ends which are secured by fastenings 31 to the frame ends 24. Said bars 30 support bed springs 32 which are secured thereon by hook bolt and nut fastenings 33 which extend through the bars 30 and engage over the ends of the mattress springs 32. Said mattress springs 32 support a mattress 34 in the upper part of the frame 23 of the lower bed 21 and which extends above the open top of said lower bed frame.

As seen in Figures 3 and 7, the lower part of the frame 23 of the upper bed 20 has angle iron bars 35 extending crosswise thereof which are secured to the rear and front walls 25 and 26 of the upper bed frame. The bars 35 support the mattress springs 32 of the upper bed 20 which are secured to said bars 35 by additional hook bolt and nut fastenings 33. The mattress 34 of the upper bed 20 is supported in the upper part of the frame 23 thereof on the upper bed springs 32 and extends from the open top of said bed frame.

The two end bars 35 and the end walls 24 of the upper bed 20 combine to support bars 36 which are secured to the under sides thereof by fastenings'37 and extend outwardly from beneath the end walls 24. Corresponding ends of two cables 38 are anchored to the outer ends of the bars 36 and extend therefrom and are trained over grooved pulleys 39. The grooved pulleys 39 are mounted on the inner sides of the cabinet end walls 15 and 16 near the upper front corners thereof and forwardly of the bars 36, when the upper bed 20 is in a raised position, as clearly illustrated in Figure 2, A cable retaining member 40 is associated with each pulley 39 and is supported by the cabinet end wall on which said pulley is mounted and engages over the pulley. The cable retainers 40 function to retain the cables 38 trained over the pulleys 39. The cables 38 extend downwardly and forwardly from the pulleys 39, whenthe beds 20 and 21 are in extended positions, and the opposite ends of the cables 38 are connected to corresponding ends of turnbuckles 41. The opposite ends of the turnbuckles 41 are connected to brackets 42 which are secured to the outer sides of the end walls 24 to the frame of the lower bed.

As best seen in Figure 7, a bar 43 is slidably supported by fastenings 44 at each end of the upper bed 20. The fastenings 44 are secured to the end members '24 of the upper bed and to the cross members 35 located adjacent thereto and are 'slidably engaged by slots 45 of the latch bar 43, and the outer ends of the bars 43 are turned downwardly, as seen at 46, and said bars 43, when in extended positions, engage over keeper loops 47 which are secured to the inner sides of the cabinet end walls 15 and 16 and with the latch bar ends 46 extending downwardly into secured to and project outwardly from the frame ends 24 of the lower bed. Braces 49 have upturned angular extensions 52 which extend upwardly from the pivots 51 and which are disposed at substantially a right angle to the remainder of the brace, which extends between the pivots 50 and 51. Said'portion of each brace 49 is provided with a knee joint 55 by'which each brace is divided into sections 53 and 4. The section f53 which is connected to the pivot 50 has an extension 53' extending beyond the knee'joint 55 and which overlies the upper edge portion of the other brace section 54 to prevent the brace 49 from breaking downwardly from its extended position as seen in Figure 2. A loop element 56 is slidably mounted on each brace section 54 between the knee joint 55 of the brace and a stop 57 and is slidably'movable into a position to embrace the extension 53','as"seen in Figure 2, to lock the brace 49 in an extended, position.

Pull rods 58 are slidably disposed in guides 59 for sliding movement toward and away from the braces 49. The guides 59 are secured to the ends 24 of the lower bed frame near the front wall 26 thereof. A rod 69 extends between and is connected at its ends to outer ends of the pull rods 58 and is spaced outwardly from the front wall 26 of the lower bed. Cables 61 extend between, and connect the opposite ends o f'the' pull rods. 58 to the angular extensions 52 of the braces 49, remote from the pivots 51. A

As best seen in Figures 2 and 4, the outer or upper edge portion 19, of the front wall 19 constitutes a hinged section which is swingably mounted by means of the hinges 62, relative to the remainder ofwsaid wall 19, so that the section 19' can be folded upwardly when the beds are extended, as seen in Figure 2. The cabinet is supported on caster wheels 63 which are connected to and extend downwardly from the cabinet bottom 14, near the corners thereof. The cabinet bottom 14, at the corners thereof, may be provided with moulding pieces 64 for partially concealing the caster wheels 63. Caster wheels 65 are detachably connected to the outer side of the front wall 19, remote from the hinges 23 to cooperate with the cables 38 for supporting the lower bed 21 in its extended open position, as seen in Figure 2. A partitionwall 66 rises a short distance from the cabinet bottom 14 and extends between the end'walls and 16 to provide a storage chamber 67 in the lower rear portion of the cabinet 13, when the cabinet is closed, and in which pillows and other bad clothing can be stored.

Assuming that the cabinet 13 is in a closed pesition with thebeds. nested therein as seen in Figure 1, the hinged front: section 19' can be swung in'wardlyand downwardly and grasped for swinging the front wall 19and the lower bed 21 outwardly and downwardly in a clockwise direction as seen in Figure 1. After the wall 19. and bed 21 are swung part way toward their positions of Figure 2, the cables 38 will exert a pull on the upper bed and top wall 18 and the top wall can then be swung upwardly to raise said top wall and the upper bed 20 to theirextended positions of Figure 2, during which the front wall 12 94 9 2 5??? 1am. w fis lQ lY the extended positions ofFigure 2. Only a very littlQmanual force is required to swing theupper bed and top wall'to extended open positions through the counterbalancing action of the lower bed 21 and front wall 19. The braces 49 will move to extended positions as seen in Figure 2 from their folded positions of Figure 1, as the beds are extended, to prevent the front wall 19 and lower bed 21 from swinging downwardly past their positions of Figure 2. The sleeves 56 are then moved to positions overlying the extensions 53 for locking the braces 49 in extended positions. The upper bed 20 is then raised slightly past its position of Figure 2 so that the latches 43 can be extended outwardly and engaged with the keepers 47, as seen in Figure 7, to provide an additional support and brace for the upper bed.

In moving the beds 20 and 21 to stored positions and in closing the cabinet lfg the upper bed 2Q is again raised slightly so that the latches 43 can be disengaged: from the keepers 47 and retracted. The sleeves 5 6 are moved outwardly into engagement with the stops 57, after which an outward pull is exerted on the rod 60 to cause the pull rods 58 to exert outward pulls on the cables 61 to rock the brace sections 54 about the pivots 51 so that the knee joints 55 will be broken upwardly, after which a lifting force can be exerted on the rod 60 to swing the lower bed 21 and front wall 19 upwardly and back toward closed positions of said parts, as seen in Figure 1. Very little manual force will be'required to thus swingably raise the lower bed 21 and wall 1 9 as the weight of the upper bed 20 will'substantially counterbalance the weight of the lower bed and said upper bed will wing downwardly and inwardly of the cabinet 13 as the lower bed 21 is raised and will assume a stored or nested position of Figure l as the lower bed approaches its nested position. It will be noted that the outer or upper corners of the top wall 18 are provided with notches 18' in which the pulleys '39 and cable retainers 40 are accommodated when the cabinet is closed. It will also be understood that the hinged front wall section 19' is moved to an extended: position before the front wall 19 assumes its fully closed position of Figure 1.

The outer side of the end wall 15 is provided with vertically spaced loop members 68 which are detachably engaged by O-clamp brackets 69, as seen in Figures 8 and 9. Said brackets 69 are secured to the outer side of one stile 70 of a ladder 71 and open away from said ladder. The C-clamps 69 are secured to the loop members 68 for mounting the ladder 71 in an upright position beyond the cabinet end 15. The ladder 71 affords a convenient means for climbing up to or descending from the upper bed 20. The clamps 69 may also be secured to the outer wall of the upper bed frame for supporting the ladder above and longitudinally of the outer side of the upper bed 20' to function as a guard rail, as illustrated in Figure 5.

Lower portions of the end walls 15 and 16 may be provided with stops 72 having foot pads 73 which can be extended downwardly into engagement with a floor 74 to prevent movement of the cabinet on the casters 63 and 65, or which foot pads 73 may be retracted upwardly, when it is desired to move the cabinet and bed structure. Eye members 75 may be secured to and extend upwardly from the rear walls 25 and front walls 26 of both bed frames to be engaged by hooks 76 of adjustable straps 77 for p itioning said straps across the beds 20 and 21 and above the mattress 34 thereof. The straps 77 are applied when the beds are to be moved to stored positions within the cabinet 13 to retain the mattresses 34 and bed clothes, not shown, in positions on the beds while the beds are disposed in vertical planes within the cabinet 13. If desired, hasps 78 may be attached to the end walls 15 and 16 to engage staples 79 carried by the front wall 19, when the cabinet 13 is closed, for securing the cabinet in a closed position. The staples 7-9 are shown in Figures land '2. A metal reinforcing strip 31) of angular cross section may be secured along the front edge of the cabinet bottom 14.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by he a psnsisd la m I claim as my invention:

1. A cabinet with folding bed structure comprising a cabinet including a bottom, end walls, rear wall, front wall and top wall, means hingedly connecting the top wall to the rear wall, means hingedly connecting the front wall to the bottom, an upper bed secured to said top wall and extending downwardly therefrom, a lower bed secured to said front wall and disposed on the inner side thereof and between the front wall and said upper bed when the cabinet is closed, said front wall being swingable outwardly and downwardly to position the lower bed in an extended position outwardly of the cabinet, said top wall being swingable upwardly to an open position for swinging said upper bed to an extended horizontal position in the upper part and above the cabinet, and counterbalancing means connecting the upper and lower beds for causing said beds to swing simultaneously between extended and closed positions and for causing the weight of the lower bed and front wall, when in extended positions, to support the upper bed in an extended position.

2. A cabinet with folding bed structure as in claim 1, said counterbalancing means including cables having corresponding ends secured to the ends of the upper bed and opposite ends connected to the ends of the lower bed, said cable ends being secured to the beds at points remote from the axes about which the beds swing, and pulleys supported on the inner sides of said end walls adjacent the top of the cabinet and over which said cables are trained.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED ST TES PATENTS 

